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State No. 9 Women's Volleyball Alone In 1st Place In SCC

For the first time this season, the state No. 9-ranked Pasadena City College women's volleyball team has sole possession of first place in the South Coast Conference. The Lancers kept their perfect records in conference (6-0) and at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium (7-0) intact by sweeping Cerritos, 25-17, 25-11, 25-13, Wednesday night.

The Lancers (12-3 overall) learned they had taken over first place by themselves with the news that No. 15 El Camino downed No. 12 Mt. San Antonio in four sets. It was Mt. SAC's first conference loss and leaves the Mounties tied with El Camino in second place at 5-1.

Pasadena will try to hold on to the top spot Friday when it visits Mt. SAC (12-3 overall) in a much anticipated match.

Against Cerritos, the Lancers once again utilized outstanding serving and strong passing and defense. Nora To'omalatai pounded 10 kills and served three consecutive aces during the first set as part of her match-high five service points. The freshman added five digs and a solo block. Middle blocker Jackie Valle-Acosta knocked down nine kills (hit .528) and had three blocks while fellow middle blocker Megan Callen recorded eight kills and a solo block.

Libero Jennifer Estrada served three aces and had 12 digs while playing perfect on serve receive. Setter Kailey Faust, who rested in the third set, dished out 14 of her 24 assists in the opening game. She added three dump kills and served two aces.

Eight different Lancers scored at least one kill and 11 PCC players made at least a dig. The Lancers attacked at a .360 percentage and only made two service errors.

Freshman hitters Kassie Jones (four kills, three digs, one assist) and Thula Parks (three kills, four digs, and an ace) took advantage of their playing time in the final set when PCC head coach Tammy Silva emptied her bench.

"We took care of business, played a real solid match," Silva said. "The starting unit played most of the first two sets and really controlled things with tough serves. Kailey did a great job of setting to different hitters and controlling the offense. I was happy to see our reserve hitters show spark in the third set."

Silva talked about taking over first place and trying to hold on to the spot.

"Mt. SAC is a team that always plays us tough. They've become a strong rival. Maybe the pressure is a little less on us than it would have been had Mt. SAC beaten El Camino. If we want to win the SCC, we have to raise our level of play in our remaining two matches v. Mt. SAC and the second go-around against El Camino. We will have to work for the title."

[Photo--Megan Callen goes to the side to knock down a kill during the Lancers sweep over Cerritos Wednesday at PCC, image by Richard Quinton, sports information photographer.]